Escorting the Billionaire #1 (The Escort Collection) by Leigh James Page B

spine.
    “You can’t lend me out. It’s in our contract,” I said, even though the contract said nothing of the sort.
    “I might make you my newest venture,” he said, leaning down to talk into my ear. He rubbed my lower back slowly, his hand lowering down to graze the top of my ass. Every nerve ending in my body was on high alert.
    Daring him, I turned my face to his. “I’m not for sale,” I said, our lips close. Too close. I brushed my nose against his so that we looked like the happy couple we weren’t. “I’m like a timeshare, baby. No one gets to own me. You just get to stay a while.”
    My words hung in the air as he looked at me darkly. “That’s a horrible thing to say about yourself, Audrey,” he said.
    His words cut me, and my back stiffened. But I didn’t have the right to react to him like that.
    I knew what I was.
    I didn’t let any emotion show on my face, but I pulled back and took another long sip of my drink. Now there was hurt mingled with the heat between us, and I was unsteadied by it, almost a little dizzy. I stood there and absorbed it, letting my shame mix with my other wild emotions.
    It was nothing I didn’t deserve.
    James took a deep breath and pulled me against him. I stood there, stiffly, wishing the floor would swallow me up. “I’m sorry,” he said in a rush, into my ear. “I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean it the way it came out.”
    I took a steadying breath and looked up into his eyes, a pretend loving look on my face. If nothing else, I was going to do my job right. “Yes, you did,” I said. “But it’s okay. I know exactly what I am, James. You should, too.”
    He stared down at me, his eyes intense. “You’re not a timeshare, Audrey. You’re a beautiful, kind woman. You’re way too young to give up on yourself.”
    I simultaneously loved and hated the fact that my body was on fire beneath him, and that I wanted to remember every word he was saying.
    “I’m not giving up on myself. But I also don’t lie to myself,” I said, giving him a tight smile that betrayed none of the wild emotion that was going on inside me. At its core, being an escort was just like being an actress, and that had never been more true for me than right now.
    “Not lying to yourself is good—we should all try that more often,” James said. “But you’ve said some negative things about yourself this afternoon. Don’t. Don’t talk about yourself that way.”
    I hadn’t realized I’d said anything bad about myself. I didn’t want to think about it. Instead, I put on my actress mask and changed tactics, quickly. “Are you lecturing me?” I asked, suddenly playful.
    He watched my face, trying to read me.
    “No,” he said, “I’m trying to help.”
    “Is trying to help a thing with you?” I asked, teasing, trying to break the tension. “Are you one of those do-gooder sorts of billionaires?”
    He gave me a small smile then, following my cues. Even though the vibe between us had changed, his powerful arms still gripped me. My body was still molded around his. I tried not to think about that—because if I did, I might try to climb on top of him right here.
    That was ill-advised for several reasons.
    “Hardly. And I don’t have things ,” he said.
    “Maybe you do,” I chided, trying to keep my voice even. “You just don’t have anybody to point them out to you.”
    “Well, then please, over the next two weeks, be the pointer-outer of things,” he said, and I could tell he was relaxing a little. He was holding me close, and I could feel him stirring against me. Still, he didn’t back away, emboldened by the crowd. I wanted to climb up on him and wrap my legs around him, to find out exactly what he had going on underneath that suit.
    I could feel his mother’s eyes on us. At the very least, we were successfully convincing her that there was something between us. What that something was, I wasn’t sure. It was more complicated than I’d thought.
    Even